1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a webbing retaining structure for use in an automatic seatbelt system for a vehicle. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a webbing retaining structure which enables a webbing to be fastened at an optimum position on the body of an occupant.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has already been proposed one type of automatic seatbelt system for vehicles designed to automatically fasten a webbing to the body of an occupant after he has been seated.
This type of automatic seatbelt system includes two forms of webbing retaining structure. One of them is a structure in which a webbing is retained at one end thereof by a door frame, and an occupant is fastened by and unfastened from the webbing in response to the movement of the door when closed and opened (this will be referred to as the door frame type structure, hereinafter). In the other form of structure, one end of a webbing is moved in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body along a guide rail mounted in the vicinity of the roof side of the vehicle (this will be referred to as the guide rail type structure, hereinafter).
In these webbing retaining structures, one end of the webbing is disposed near the shoulders of the occupant who is in the webbing fastened condition, while the intermediate portion of the webbing is employed to restrain the body of the occupant, and the other end of the webbing is wound up into a retractor installed near the center console.
Therefore, it is preferable to arrange the webbing retaining portion near the shoulders of the occupant such that it is possible to adjust the angle at which the webbing extends from the webbing retaining portion toward the body of the occupant in accordance with the size of the occupant's body or the position of the seat.
To meet this demand, an automatic seatbelt system of the door frame type structure has already been disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 73260/1983.
However, if the webbing retaining portion is made rotatable with respect to the body of the vehicle, the number of required parts is increased, and the assembling operation is complicated, resulting in a lowering in working efficiency.
In addition, a complicated assembling operation leads to a reduction in the degree of accuracy in assembling, which makes it impossible to effect an appropriate adjustment of the webbing retaining angle.